Launching a new website or redesigning an older site is a big challenge for most businesses. The web design part is easy if you have access to a talented and experienced web design and development team, but building a site to drive new leads and sales takes a lot more planning and expertise.
Especially for B2B firms with a global reach, designing websites for lead generation is increasingly the rule rather than the exception. In 2021, outbound leads would cost 39% more than inbound leads, according to the most recent study from ZoomInfo. According to the same survey, businesses with advanced lead-generating and management techniques had a 9.3% greater rate of hitting sales quotas.
Before you launch a new lead generation website or launch a redesigned version of an existing website, make sure you check all of these boxes during the planning process:
1. Total Commitment from Marketing and Sales Teams
The most common mistake company leaders make in planning new websites is failing to involve key team members responsible for monitoring and managing the leads.
Suppose your B2B company spends tens of thousands of dollars on fancy automation software and web design, but the sales team refuses to log in and update contact records or change the statuses. In that case, it will turn into a spectacular failure.
If you’re a local business owner and most of your sales are at your brick-and-mortar location, plan on enrolling your onsite teams in an information-gathering initiative. You can get creative here; use contests or giveaways to gather email addresses of people who visit your store or business, or train your onsite team to ask for the information and enter it into the CRM. The value of a company isn’t 100% determined by revenue streams; it’s also related to your database’s size, value, and potential.
2. Content for Customer Retention
When it comes to new website designs, it’s easy to focus solely on new customer acquisition. Failing to build web pages and plan content for customer retention is a big mistake! Remember, it can cost up to five times more to obtain a new customer than retain an existing one.
If you’re a B2B company, it can take time to identify the right website strategy for customer retention. If you need help with proceeding, ask your marketing team to include customer retention in the content strategy. Building buyer personas for a lead generation website should be part of every website strategy, but remember your valuable, long-term customers when building personas.
If your business doesn’t have a strategy for retaining customers or turning them into repeat customers, team up with a business development coach and explore options to offer product or service upgrades, subscription-based services, etc., and build those into the website.
3. Target a Specific Customer Base
If your new website targets EVERYONE, it will lead to undefined marketing and sales tactics. Your copywriter will need to learn how to position your product or service, where to place calls to action for maximum conversions, or how to plan content and design for the buyer’s journey.
When investing in a marketing automation tool, it’s important to identify two – four ideal targets. Review sales data from the past and look for patterns. Can you see trends from buyers within specific industries, locations, age brackets, education levels, or job titles?
Suppose you can identify a few patterns within your ideal customer list but need help building a content strategy for them. Consider partnering with an experienced inbound marketing services provider. They will build personas from your outline of sales information, study the buyer journey and conversion information from website analytics, and ensure the content on your website speaks to the right audience and offers the best resources.
- Use a Stable, Secure, & Reliable Content Management System
Ten years ago, web development on open-source software was the gold standard for building successful lead-generation websites. As cybersecurity attacks become more common and more sophisticated, making your website on an open-source platform requires thought and planning for data privacy measures.
Suppose you’re integrating a customer relationship management and sales tool with a website that holds sensitive customer and payment records. In that case, you’re at risk for liability claims in the event of a cyberattack or ransomware exploit.
Today, many companies are using the following platforms to power their websites, keep their data secure, and integrate with marketing automation tools:
5. Connections to Multiple Communication Channels
If your target audience isn’t likely to pick up the phone and call your company, what other options exist on the website? Can they sign up for text messages? Can they schedule a meeting online with your company calendar? Is there a chatbot to answer questions? What about social media channels; does your website link to your Facebook page or YouTube channel?
As we move forward in the world of digital transformation, it’s essential to keep your ideal customer in mind. If your sales or marketing team is reluctant to adopt new software tools or integrations, but they’re a valuable part of your team, invest time and resources into proper training. Many of the above platforms offer free training and online knowledge base documents for learning and troubleshooting.
Building Websites for Maximum Lead Generation Potential
How many items can be added to your existing website now that you have the list? Websites are ALWAYS a work in progress! Be bold and start using some of these tools now. When you are ready to invest in a new lead generation website platform, the transition will go well if you’ve already used a few items on this list.
